Sydney’s friend Cameron needs your prayers. Little two year old Cameron was taken to the hospital on Christmas Eve and is battling RSV. As of the last update, it looks like he will be there for a while. Please pray for Cameron to get better and strength for his parents Leah and Justin.
It’s amazing how holidays and company really get your routines all jumbled up. But jumbled up in a good way. Our Christmas was fun. The two preceding days excluded. Christmas morning we all opened gifts in a frenzy of tissue paper, boxes and bows. It was a lot of fun and everyone walked away with big smiles and hugs. The boys each got skateboards (big mama sigh…) and the Guitar Hero World Tour was a huge hit with all three boys (Randall included). Sydney got lots of toys that have buttons to push and make noise and music. Her favorite gift was a tunnel! We had a ham and chicken dinner with two different apple pies and a peach pie for dessert… and plenty of yummy leftovers!
The typical routine that I was talking about has been replaced with Canasta games every night. We are having a blast with my parents. Unfortunately my mom is sick, a cold and allergy combo. Poor thing, at least she is not in the hospital with a mysterious medical issue this time (knock on wood). We are preparing for a New Year’s Eve party and my blogging time is gettin put on the back burner. I will try and post some pictures soon. Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!
This Christmas season has been an interesting one. We have had several challenges thrown at us, including the pending deadline of Randall’s job coming to and end next month. Even tonight, the night that I wanted to see my “sweet” children excited with anticipation at the arrival tonight of Santa Claus was challenged by the mysterious replacement of my kids with obnoxious, crazy children. I wanted to tuck my kiddos into bed with the reading of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, but again… it was not to be. I shoveled them into the bedroom with strict instructions not to go downstairs before dawn, and that they were to come wake us up and we would go down together. You see… they plucked every single nerve I had today and yesterday and I couldn’t wait to get them into bed.
I struggled with this. I didn’t want to be frustrated and… well, flat out ANGRY with them on such a big night! Sigh. I sit here writing this, waiting for my husband to return from the evening service so that we can play Santa Claus. I have had a moment to settle my brain and take a deep breathe. I know that kids are kids… and heaven knows that the day that you want need hope for them to be sweet and behaved it the moment that you find yourself repeating the same thing instructionsdemands trying not to lose your temper! Especially in church. Frankly I debated on checking E-Bay too see how much I could get for two blond headed boys. I did find myself wondering if the disciples were as ornery as my boys… There are several times where Jesus repeats himself three times when giving instructions “Verily, Verily, Verily I tell you…” or “Truly, Truly, Truly, I say to you…” Hmmmmm…..
Anyway, this is not the feeling of the season and it is NOT the reason for tonight. Tonight is the last day in preparation for the birth of our Savior. I remember last year I hear the song “O Holy Night” and REALLY heard the words. Tonight I need to realign my heart and my brain to these words:
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
I think about my life and when I really came to KNOW Jesus, not just know who he is, but to walk with him, that is how I felt. I had searched for meaning in all sorts of things, and in Christ, I finally felt my worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
When I am down, frustrated, irritated, ticked off, sad, or whatever “out of sorts” emotion that gets to me. Christ is my thrill of hope and I know that a new and glorious morning in coming.
So, as I prepare to go downstairs and play Santa. I know that my children’s eyes will light up and they will have a glorious morning. I will watch Sydney find new joy in fun new toys that will entertain and fascinate her (while helping her learn new skills). I will see my husband open the gifts that I chose JUST for him. And I will watch my mom and dad open their gifts and just their presence is a precious gift for me. So tonight I will fall on my knees, and listen for God’s whisper to help change my heart.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
So, on this divine night, I will also thank God for the wonderful gifts that HE has given me. An adoring husband, beautiful children, loving parents, and an INCREDIBLE circle of family and friends. He has blessed me with so much, including the challenges. Tomorrow will NOT be perfect. My kids will surely test my nerves… but it IS Christmas and I am excited all the same!
God Bless you all and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!
Oh dear… Murphy’s law is at it again. Yesterday was like a bad sitcom around my house. Are you ready for this?!? Okay, hold on to your hats…
Murphy 101:Yesterday started out with me being sleep deprived (I know, shock, shock) No, it was NOT Sydney, well, not JUST Sydney!!! Knock on wood, cross your fingers, and spin around in circles three times… Sydney is sleeping through the night again more nights than not!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! The sleep deprivation was a conspiracy amongst my family members. Of course it started with little Miss Sydney around 4:0am. She woke up with teething pains and her feet were FREEZING! I found her socks tucked into her mattress, gave her a little Orajel and a bottle and she was taken care of. No sooner did I get to bed and asleep, my four year old comes into the room crying. He fell out of bed. (poor thing) He is staying in his brother’s room because my parents are here, so he was disoriented and I let him into our bed. Again, I snuggle back under the covers and fall asleep when 15 minutes later the cat is WAILING in our bathroom. She does this when she is out of water. I got up and gave her some water and went BACK to bed…. 15 minutes later… more kitty wailing… I march her downstairs and put her by her food and water… She finally settles down. Okay… NOW I can get some sleep. I get back to bed and AGAIN fall asleep only to have my darling husband start snoring logs! SERIOUSLY?!?! REALLY?!?! YOU TOO?!?! UGH! So, long story short I start my day exhausted.
Murphy 102:At some point in the mid morning, I realize that Sydney is too quiet! I look over and the bathroom door is open and there is my daughter with most of the roll of toilet paper on the floor and her shirt SOAKED to her elbows and all down the front from the toilet! EWWWWW!!! I holler out “BOYS, who left the bathroom door open?” I hear a distant reply… “Sorry!” Frustrated I decide it is bath time for Sydney…
Murphy 103:Into the bathroom we go. I strip the baby, fill the tub, put her in the tub… then reach for the washcloth when what does my wondering nose start to smell?? Sniff, sniff??? Could it be? Surely not… OH yes…. there are floaties in the tub!!! UGH! REALLY?!? SERIOUSLY?!? Oh, let me tell you, Murphy was going all the way… these were not the typical marble-like poops… these were the ones that disintegrate when they hit the water! I get the baby out of the tub…fish out the baby toys and put them into the sink and fish out the poop (which was harder than you would imagine) and drain the tub. I called for some bleach and proceeded to bleach the toys and the tub, then rinse the baby and start all over again! (This was supposed to be a “Quick bath”)
Murphy 104: We finally get to go out shopping for some final items yesterday and my husband calls to say that I need to rush home, so that he can get the flats for the church play out of my van because he has rehearsal. Okay, so home we go… I need to go out again and mail the cards (yes, I am that late in this chore)and run to Walgreens. I drop off Sydney and my mom and get back in the car to the store. I get to the store and no purse! REALLY?!? SERIOUSLY?!? I call home and no one can find it! Ugh, home again, a frantic search shows no sign of a purse. My mind imagines my purse in the Target cart with four envelopes of cash in it. (I was on the verge of tears!) I make ONE MORE search of the van to find my purse squashed in the seat which my husband folded in half to get in the backseat! I wasn’t sure if I should jump for joy, cry or scream. So out again I go.
Murphy 105:(oh yeah, there’s more) After Randall’s rehearsal and my errands he calls and says, let’s just go out and grab dinner. Something was nagging the back of my mind that I should stay home and not go out. Against that voice, we head out to a local restaurant. We sit down, order and suddenly I let out a LOUD “Oh CRAP!” The whole table looks at me for an explanation to my sudden insane outburst… “Santa Claus is supposed to call between 7 and 8 tonight!” It was 6:30 and we didn’t have our food yet. We all stare at each other, no one knowing what to do next. Finally someone says, let’s get it to go. Our poor waiter looked panic stricken when I asked for the food to go. He said “All of it?” I said yes, but it was too late, the order was being plated. I said, “No problem, just bring us a bunch of to go boxes and we will do it ourselves.” We got our food, promptly boxed it up, and left. The poor restaurant staff was stunned at our abrupt exit. We had to assure them that we were not upset with them, that something came up and we had to go. We got home at 6:59 to lukewarm dinners that were all jumbled together in the boxes, but we made it in time for the call from Santa. We used the service “Santa Speaking” and it was wonderful. I will post the call when they send the MP3.
I went to bed last night and sighed a HUGE “WHEW!” of relief… Somehow the day was over and I made it alive. I am hoping and praying that I have paid Murphy my dues and that he will leave me alone for a while!
When I was a little girl, my mom and I used to go to the Nutcracker every year. Since we moved around, we were able to see all kinds of productions. That was part of the fun, to see how each ballet company interpreted the show, especially the candies. So, we saw productions in Oakland and San Francisco California, and we saw many different productions in the Phoenix Arizona area as well. We’ve seen the BIG ballet companies and small time dance studios. I have loved it so much that I have collected a bunch of Nutcrackers over the years that only come out at Christmas. Now, when I saw a bunch… I am now up to 56. Really, I am not obsessive… my friends and family love to find new and unique nutcrackers to surprise me with, and I have to say, that I love getting them. They are such fun. (I’ll have to post a few pics)
Anyway… I digress… Now back to the point of this post. THIS YEARyear I decided that since my mom was going to be in town in December… I would surprise her with tickets to the ballet. I told her that we were going out for a girls night out at the Melting Pot. (yummy fondue restaurant). We had a nice dinner then I gave her a book with a poem about mothers and in the back was a description of the Austin Ballet company. I told her that we were heading downtown after dinner to see the Nutcracker. She was suprised and we had a wonderful night! I just LOVE that ballet with it’s wonderful music. I have been listening to it over and over in my head today.
Sydney and I were on our local TV news stations “News 8 Austin” along with Lori Tullos-Barta to represent our local Down Syndrome Association and promote donations and volunteer opportunities. Sydney is cute with her little Elmo doll. She is not only wiggly but makes some cute little noises. My baby girl is a star at only a year old. (okay, so I am biased)
Just click on the link below to watch the video.
(For the record, the camera adds about 30 pounds)
Chuy made it through surgery. The vet called and said that it was a little tougher than she thought, so her incision is much longer than anticipated. She has 6 inch incision on her shoulder. Poor baby! We were given the Elizabethan collar if she bugs it. So far it’s not necessary. She is a little groggy and she follows me around the house whimpering. It makes me so sad to see her like this. She perked up more towards the end of the evening and insisted on coming up the stairs where we are. Oh, and she has to wear a T-shirt to cover the wound so that she doesn’t mess with it. She will be styling the shirts for a week to two weeks. Here’s a peak at the latest Border Collie fashion trend, complete with an 80’s style knot.
This is the Mom Song sung to the William Tell Overature! I saw Anita do this at the Women of Faith conference. It cracks me up every time I see it… Please click on this link and ENJOY!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw
“THEY” say that strange things happen during a full moon. I don’t know who THEY are, but I really would have rather had a boring day today. The day started out innocent enough, I went to my Mom’s group this morning and enjoyed our Secret Sister reveal. It was a nice morning. The afternoon was also nice. Sydney was giggly and in good spirits and Anthony and I baked Christmas cookies. It was shortly afterwards when the day went sour.
This started yesterday when I was getting ready to walk out of the door to run errands when I saw my Border collie, Chuy had a HUGE lump on her shoulder. It is the size of a racquetball!! My heart immediately sunk. You see, I have been nursing my almost 17 year old kitty through what is sure to be the last chapter of her life. She has gone blind from high blood pressure and is in the beginning stages of kidney disease. The vet is leaning towards cancer. So, I have accepted that she may not be around much longer. When I saw that lump on Chuy, I was immediately worried. I took her to the vet today and it doesn’t look good. I am obviously hopeful for the best, but the vet is being evasive and insisted on immediate removal of the lump and biopsy. So, Chuy will have the lump removed first thing Monday morning and we should know something by next Friday. I called my BFF and mom to commiserate. They are awesome!
Later on I showed up this evening to my annual Christmas cookie exchange and burst into tears when asked if I was okay. Thank God for long time girlfriends. I talked it out, then we moved on to catching up with each other and exchanging yummy cookies! I love my friends and cannot imagine life without them. God has surrounded me with such loving souls, I am so blessed. I am praying for a good outcome for Chuy. She and Wickett (kitty) are my first children, so thinking about losing… I know that it is part of the cycle of life, but it still breaks my heart to face the inevitable.
